Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said the startup movement has picked up momentum in the country and led to the creation of over 80,000 startups, whose number was about 350 before 2014.

Singh said that due to a push from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the startup movement has picked up momentum in India.

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has reportedly approached several banks to get loans adding up to Rs 7,000 crore, a report in the Economic Times (ET) said on Friday. The State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank and IDFC First Bank are among the banks that the telco has approached.

The lenders have, however, sought clarity from the telco on the government's potential shareholding and its plans to infuse capital in Vi. The bulk of the loans will be used to pay a part of its dues to Indus Towers.

Amazon.com Inc. is laying off more than 18,000 employees — a significantly bigger number than previously planned — in the latest sign that a technology slump is deepening.

Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy announced the move in a memo to staff Wednesday, saying it followed the company’s annual planning process. The cuts, which began last year, were previously expected to affect about 10,000 people.

Telecom operators Jio and Bharti Airtel on Thursday started their 5G services in the state capital.

The 5G services of both the companies were unveiled by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at an event here.

Godrej properties has sold over 1 million square feet of area at the launch of a new project, Celeste, in its township, Godrej Garden City, in Ahmedabad.

The company has sold 870 homes with a booking value of approximately Rs 435 crore since the project was launched in October, last year, it said in a statement.

The project covers nearly 2.3 hectares and includes 8 towers which offer homes and retail outlets of various configurations.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited bids for owning teams in the Women's Indian Premier League (WIPL), a report by The Economic Times (ET) said. The tender for bids will be available after the payment of a non-refundable fee of Rs 5 lakh. It will be available for purchase till January 21, 2023.

Arun Dhumal, chairman of IPL, said there was a "lot of interest" among corporate houses to own a team in Women's IPL.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that China is "under-representing the true impact" of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, especially the exact number of deaths.

In a statement on Wednesday, Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said: "We believe that definition (of a Covid death) is too narrow," the BBC reported.

Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., will be focusing his attention on the Indian conglomerate’s pivot to green energy, according to people familiar with the matter, after putting his children in charge of other businesses.

The 65-year-old will oversee strategy, including the building of gigafactories and blue hydrogen facilities, will assess acquisition targets, and is talking to potential investors, the people said, asking not to be named as the information isn’t public.

Gold prices hit a six-month high on Tuesday in thin trading, with the market's attention turning to minutes from the US Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting due this week.

Spot gold was up 0.8% at $1,838.69 per ounce as of 0257 GMT. US gold futures rose 1% to $1,843.90.

The dollar index slipped 0.1%, making greenback-priced bullion more attractive for overseas buyers.

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog will levy a fine of 2.8 billion won ($2.2 million) on Tesla Inc. for alleged violations of the nation’s advertisement law, dealing a setback to the US carmaker that’s seeking to expand its presence in the Asian country.

Tesla falsely promoted and exaggerated the driving range and charging speed of its electric cars as well as the estimated savings on fuel costs by using its vehicles, according to a statement from South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission Tuesday. The Elon Musk-led company changed that advertisement on its Korean-language website last February when the watchdog initiated an investigation.

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